WASHINGTON DC, USA – In a major endorsement ahead of the 2024 presidential election, more than 90 prominent business leaders announced their support for Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday, highlighting her ability to foster a stable and predictable business environment.
The group, which includes billionaire investor Mark Cuban, basketball legend and entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, emphasized that Harris is the best candidate to protect the strength and stability of both American democracy and the economy.
The business executives, representing industries ranging from technology to finance, signed a letter stating their confidence in Harris’s leadership and her commitment to advancing policies that promote fair competition and economic growth.
“Her election is the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy,” the group wrote in their joint endorsement. The letter was first reported by CNBC.
Corporate Leaders Align Behind Harris
The signatories include a wide array of current and former corporate heads, including high-profile figures such as Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs and head of the Emerson Collective, former Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, and Rosalind Brewer, former CEO of Walgreens and Sam’s Club.
Together, these leaders form a powerful coalition backing Harris, signalling that the business community sees her as a stable force for the economy amid a politically turbulent landscape.
Mark Cuban, known for his outspoken views on business and politics, joined the effort, alongside Michael Lynton, chairman of Snap, and former Merck CEO Ken Frazier.
The letter’s signatories expressed confidence that Harris would build on her record of advancing business-friendly policies, which they believe will help U.S. industries remain competitive in the global market.
James Murdoch’s public backing of Harris is particularly striking, given the political leanings of his family. Rupert Murdoch, his father, is a powerful media mogul with significant sway in conservative political circles.
However, James Murdoch, who has distanced himself from far-right ideologies, made a clear statement by joining the ranks of corporate leaders supporting Harris.
On the other side of the political divide, Republican nominee Donald Trump has also secured the backing of several influential business figures.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen are among those supporting Trump’s bid for re-election.
Many of Trump’s supporters have praised his tax cuts and deregulation policies, viewing them as essential to fostering innovation and growth in American business.
However, the business leaders endorsing Harris are critical of Trump’s approach, particularly his unpredictable trade policies and tariff plans, which they argue could destabilise the U.S. economy.
They emphasised that Harris’s steady hand and clear vision for economic policy are key reasons for their support.
The Business Community’s Letter
The letter backing Harris reads:
“We endorse Kamala Harris’s election as President of the United States. Her election is the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy. With Kamala Harris in the White House, the business community can be confident that it will have a President who wants American industries to thrive. As a partner to President Biden, Vice President Harris has a strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States and ensure American businesses can compete and win in the global market. She will continue to advance fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment, and she will strive to give every American the opportunity to pursue the American dream.”
The list of signatories includes former CEOs from a range of major companies, such as Ken Chenault of American Express, Peter Orszag of Lazard, and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.
Other influential figures, including Sean Parker, founder of Napster, and Steve Westly, founder of The Westly Group, also lent their names to the endorsement.
Looking Ahead
The endorsement of Kamala Harris by more than 90 business leaders underscores the stark divide within corporate America as the 2024 election approaches.
While Trump continues to enjoy support from several major corporate players, the coalition behind Harris reflects a growing desire for stable leadership, fair policies, and a commitment to the rule of law.
As the election nears, the impact of these endorsements remains to be seen, but the backing of such a powerful group may influence voters, particularly those concerned with economic stability.
Full List of Business Leaders Who Endorsed Letter for Harris
- Roger Altman, Founder & Senior Chairman of Evercore
- Shellye Archambeau, former CEO of MetricStream
- Carl Bass, former CEO of Autodesk
- Tom Bernstein, President and Co-Founder of Chelsea Piers
- Afsaneh Beschloss, Founder & CEO of Rock Creek
- Jeff Bewkes, former CEO of Time Warner
- W. Michael Blumenthal, 64th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and former CEO of both Bendix and Unisys
- Rosalind “Roz” Brewer, former CEO of Sam’s Club; former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance; former COO of Starbucks
- Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox; Chairwoman of Teneo; Founding Partner of Integrum Holdings
- Maverick Carter, CEO of The SpringHill Company
- Ken Chenault, Chairman and Managing Director of General Catalyst and former Chairman and CEO of American Express
- Peter Chernin, Co-Founder & Partner of TCG
- Tony Coles, Chairperson & former CEO of Cerevel
- Tim Collins, Founder, CEO, and Senior Managing Director of Ripplewood
- Ron Conway, Founder & Managing Partner of SV Angel
- W. Don Cornwell, Co-founder, former Chairman & CEO of Granite Broadcasting Corporation
- Robert Crandall, former President and Chairman of American Airlines
- Mark Cuban, Co-founder of costplusdrugs.com
- Richelieu Dennis, Founder and Executive Chair of Sundial Group of Companies
- Barry Diller, Chairman & Senior Executive of IAC and Senior Executive of Expedia; Former Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Fox, Inc.
- John Doerr, Chairman of Kleiner Perkins
- Arnold Donald, former CEO of Carnival Corporation
- Eugene J. Duffy, Investment Banker
- Blair Effron, Partner & Co-Founder of Centerview Partners
- José E. Feliciano, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clearlake Capital Group
- David P. Fialkow, Co-Founder & Managing Director of General Catalyst
- Anne Finucane, former Vice Chair of Bank of America
- Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Chief Executive of E.L. Rothschild
- Ken Frazier, former Executive Chairman, President & CEO of Merck
- Mark Gallogly, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Three Cairns Group; Co-Founder of Centerbridge Partners
- Chad Gifford, Former Chairman of Bank of America
- David Grain, Founder and CEO of Grain Management
- Logan Green, Chairman and former CEO of Lyft
- Daniel J. Halpern, Co-founder and CEO of Jackmont Hospitality
- Bruce Heyman, Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and former Managing Director of Private Wealth at Goldman Sachs
- Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments; Chairman of Starbucks
- Roger Hochschild, former CEO and President of Discover Financial Services
- Reid Hoffman, Partner at Greylock Partners and Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn
- Glenn Hutchins, Chairman of North Island or Co-Founder of Silver Lake
- Blake Irving, former CEO of GoDaddy
- Tony James, former President, CEO & Executive Vice Chairman of Blackstone; Founder of Jefferson River Capital
- David Jacobson, Senior Advisor and former Vice Chair of BMO Financial Group; Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada
- Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Chairman and CEO, Magic Johnson Enterprises
- Brad Karp, Chairman of Paul, Weiss
- Jeffrey Katzenberg, Founder & Managing Partner of WndrCo
- Ellen Kullman, President and CEO of Carbon3; former Chair and CEO of DuPont
- Todd Lachman, Founder of Sovos Brands
- Chris Larsen, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple
- Jeff Lawson, former CEO of Twilio
- Ted Leonsis, CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment
- Aaron Levie, Co-Founder & CEO of Box
- Ed Lewis, former Chairman and CEO of Essence Communications, co-founder Essence Magazine
- William M. Lewis, Jr.
- Michael Lynton, Chairman of Snap, Inc., former CEO of Sony Entertainment
- Tracy V. Maitland, President and Chief Investment Officer of Advent Capital Management
- Helena Maus, CEO of Archetype and Marker Collective
- Marissa Mayer, co-founder and CEO of Sunshine Products, former CEO of Yahoo!
- T.J. McGill, Co-Founder of Evergreen Pacific Partners and Suzanne Sinegal McGill, Co-Founder of Rwanda Girls Initiative
- Danny Meyer, Founder & Executive Chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group
- Raymond J. McGuire, President of Lazard
- Dustin Moskovitz, Co-founder and CEO of Asana
- Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford
- Anne Mulcahy, former Chairman and CEO of Xerox
- James Murdoch, Founder & CEO of Lupa Systems; former CEO of 21st Century Fox
- Laxman Narasimhan, former CEO of Starbucks
- Indra Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
- Peter Orszag, former Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and CEO of Lazard
- Deven J. Parekh, Managing Director of Insight Partners
- Sean Parker, Founder of Napster; Founder and Chairman of Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
- Charles Phillips, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Recognize; former President of Oracle and former CEO of Infor;
- Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President of Emerson Collective
- Penny Pritzker, 38th U.S. Secretary of Commerce; founder and Chairman of PSP Partners
- Vasant Prabhu, former CFO and Vice-Chair of Visa
- Spencer Rascoff, Founder and CEO of 75 & Sunny Ventures; Co-Founder and former CEO of Zillow
- Punit Renjen
- Rachel Romer, Founder of Guild Education
- Robert Rubin, former U.S. Treasury Secretary; Senior Counselor at Centerview Partners
- Kevin P. Ryan, Co-founder, MongoDB, Business Insider, GILT Groupe, Zola, Pearl Health, Affect Therapeutics, and Transcend Therapeutics
- Faiza J. Saeed
- Dan Schulman, former President & CEO of PayPal
- Jim Sinegal, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Costco
- Dan Springer, former CEO of Docusign
- Tom Steyer, Founder and former Co-Senior-Managing-Partner of Farallon Capital
- Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp
- Scott Stuart, Founding & Managing Partner of Sageview Capital
- Larry Summers, 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury and President Emeritus of Harvard University
- Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder & CEO of Chobani
- Daniel Weiss, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Angeleno Group
- Steve Westly, Founder and Managing Partner of The Westly Group
- Ron Williams, former CEO of Aetna
- Robert Wolf, former CEO of UBS Americas
